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Haiti Struggles To Recover From Hurricane Matthew

Hurricane Matthew left Haiti in devastation. Debris litters the streets and thousands of people are left homeless and without water.

The locals in the south of Haiti said international aid is going to the bigger cities, while their communities have received almost nothing.

"People are fighting over water. I went into people's houses, just to bring the water to them, they don't have a drop of water, which is like, the basics," said Sophia Martelly, former First Lady of Haiti.

Nonprofit organizations like Haiti’s Health Education Project are on the ground reaching these remote communities to bring them food, medicine, clothes and most importantly – water.

"There's no life here, at all. And it's really really sad to see that the people still stick around here because they don't have any other place to go. They're just right next to their broken house," said Samuel Bastien, HEP Coordinator.

The nonprofit’s team of nine drove for more than seven hours from the capital of Haiti to the south in Coteaux this week, to distribute one thousand water purification bottles, enough to clean 185,000 gallons of water.

This was the first time the community received help since the hurricane hit the island a little over a week ago.

"I've been hearing on the news, I've been reading that a lot of help has been getting to the people. But I come myself because I want to see, and I am a witness they have not received anything," Martelly said.

Haitians remain hopeful and are working to recover from one of the worst disasters that have ever hit the island.

Students at the University of Florida have raised over $1,000 for the Health Education Project to help these southern communities in Haiti.

Amaury is a reporter for WUFT News and can be contacted by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news@wuft.org.